You Know You Miss New England When . . .

• You get drunk, go online and order a trucker cap that says Dunkin' Donuts on it.
  
• You seriously consider shipping a case of Magic Hat across the country.
• You can't enjoy the crab legs at the free buffet without thinking about lobster.
• You have a sign that says "Vermont" over your closet door.
  
• You purposely drop r's sometimes just because no one else does.

Two Unrelated Posts in One

Today I made an excellent sandwich for lunch. It consisted of roast beef and cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce on a sub roll-- microwaved for a minute or two. Simple, yet delicious. This might have been the highlight of the day. Successfully completing my first independent electrical task would have been a close second had the bow light that I installed turned on when I was done. Which it didn't, of course. Although it is possible that it's not my fault and due instead to faulty wiring in the boat. (I'll keep you posted.) Can I say that I love how my job involves on a daily basis me pretending things like I've actually used wire strippers before Today I also got to go to the fuel dock for the first time (all the way to H dock. (we're on I dock.) It was kind of amazing. Ten pumps and a veritable mini-mart at the end of the dock with full coolers of beer. Definitely not as fun as ye olde Fuel Shed, but the attendant was not only not a middle-aged guy, she was actually kinda hot, so that would probably be highlight number three. Ha.

Wait. Cancel all of that. What am I saying? Nothing even comes close to topping the fact that today I enjoyed at least four hours of direct sunlight. I almost forgot because it was such an aberration.

Mid-day conversation with my co-worker:
Me: "Yeah, I just wanted to go do that project on Serenity before it starts raining.
Brian: "Is it going to rain?"
Me: "I don't know. But it's been sunny for over a half hour now, so I'm assuming it's going to start raining anytime."

I think I got a little color in my face. I can feel it, that post-sun feeling.

-------------------------------------------

KEXP is quickly becoming my new favorite radio station. It's very Pacific Northwest (PNW--in case you need to use an abbreviation) and more indie (less folky) than WXPN, my previous favorite. It took me a little while to warm up to it, but now I am mildly obsessed. Like I look forward to cleaning boats just so I can listen to the radio. And then I go home and look up the playlists (which they conveniently post online) and download all my new favorite songs. Or at least request the albums from the Seattle Public Library (ghetto iTunes) so when I get them in twelve weeks I can listen to the song again. Who needs friends when you have a reliable radio station to introduce you to new music?

Like XPN, KEXP is a public station and can be listened to live online. For all of you with office jobs, I highly recommend you check it out someday and listen for at least an hour.

Did you know that radio stations west of the Mississippi have call letters that start with "K" while east of the Mississippi they begin with "W"?

Multimedia

I think I might be one of the few people left in the country who has not read The Kite Runner. I started reading it last year but never finished it. So tonight I decided I was going to read it, from start to finish. I am currently on page 26. I got sidetracked and decided I wanted to decorate my room. So I made a collage.

Now I'm staring at it (it's on the doorframe across the room) and I'm not sure if I like it anymore. Oh well.

Here are some (very) short lists.

Movies You Must Watch (if you have not already done so):

• Juno

Books You Should Read (if you get the chance):

• What Is the What by Dave Eggers

Artists You Might Want to Check Out (if you enjoy lesbian folk music):

• Chris Pureka

Coconut Curry Chocolate Bars

I'm not sure exactly when I decided it was acceptable to buy $3 chocolate bars. Maybe after eating an entire bar in free samples at the factory store for the third Sunday in a row, I thought I should actually buy one. And then it was all over. It wasn't a conscious decision to start buying these bars every time I saw one in the store, but once I did, it became easy to justify. They sell them at the PCC (PCC Fremont!), and when I enter that store (the only supermarket in late-night walking distance), I have already abandoned all hope of buying anything at a reasonable price. I think about all the money that I save by not having a car. And then I spend it on ridiculously expensive locally produced fair trade organic chocolate.

I don't think of it as a purchase, but as a donation. I am supporting a responsible small local business, that in turn is helping to sustain cocoa bean farmers, somewhere. And as a small bonus, for my investment in the fair trade process, I get to eat a delicious bar of chocolate. I think of all the money I save not buying daily $4 lattes. Or cigarettes. Or groceries.

For more information on my addiction, please see the following website: http://www.theochocolate.com/products/3400-phinney-bars.php

Two Thousand and Eight.

RESOLVED:
The non-blogger will post to her non-blog a minimum of three times per week.